“When I was very young, the [potluck] meals seemed to appear by magic. Everything looked appetizing and tasted so good,” says Marci
Wright, hospitality coordinator at Allegheny West Conference’s DaleWright Memorial church in Germantown, Ohio. Her grandmother, Eileen Wright Lester, taught all her daughters and daughters-in-law recipes for the church’s vegetarian meals and baked goods, including Blackberry Cake Top.

Walk into a potluck at the Pennsylvania Conference’s Shermans Dale church, and you might nd sauerkraut or barley casserole or vegan lasagna. One thing you will always find is a feeling of family. And a pot of “Grandma Sterner’s” baked beans.

The beans have been a staple at the potluck for the last 30-plus years, rst made by grandma Grace Sterner, now cooked by her granddaughter, Robin Page.

After a 30-hour trip, the familiar smell and taste of food at the hospital canteen in Nepal was very comforting and reassuring to Fylvia Fowler Kline’s family, who had just arrived as missionaries from the U.S. The cafeteria delivered a plate of pakoras, an Indian snack made of vegetable chickpea fritters similar to falafels.

“Getting adjusted to a new cuisine is one of the challenges of mission service. But, it wasn’t for us,” says Kline, who adds that Nepalese food is in influenced by the flavors of India and Tibet, similar to what she ate growing up.

Nellie Dakanay had been a Seventh-day Adventist before attending Allegheny East Conference’s Breath of Life church in Fort Washington, Md., but she was new to American life.

“I would not have known how to eat kale or collard greens, pastas or salads,” says Dakanay, if she hadn’t started attending Breath of Life. Originally from the Philippines, Dakanay and her family moved to the U.S. in the early 1980s. Prior to arriving to the U.S., they served as missionaries in Nigeria.

It was at the Breath of Life potlucks, in the predominantly African-American congregation, that the Dakanays learned how to cook American and vegetarian meals.

Allegheny East Conference’s (AEC) Department of Education will be hosting two robotics events this spring at the Jessie R. Wagner Adventist School (JRW) and Pine Forge Academy (PFA). The goal of the tournaments is to expand robotics throughout the North American Division schools and to expose students to STEM-related careers. The FIRST LEGO League Junior Showcase and Expo, held at JRW, is for kindergarten through fourth grade. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Robotics Tournament, held at PFA, is for students fourth through eighth grade. All Adventist schools are invited to participate.

A group of young visitors were near Ohio Conference’s Cleveland First church one Sabbath and decided to visit. After the service, there was no potluck, so they left hungry, without making any real contacts.

After hearing about their experience, member Aracely Balleza determined to make sure that every visitor who walked through the church doors would have a lunch and a friend available for them after divine service. She has now led the ministry for the last seven years, ensuring there is a potluck every week and for every visitor.